OT: How do they keep bananas from freezing?

IA Leon · Jan 17, 2009

In 1954 I worked a summer in St. Paul at the Thermoking factory expanding copper tubes in stacks of aluminum fins to make "coils". Today while selecting a bunch of bananas at the store and wondering if I needed to keep the parked car running to keep my groceries from freezing (record low temps here in NE IA)it came to me..how do we get these truckloads of bananas here every day without freezing? Run the Thermokings backward for heat?

Leonard

trucker40 · Jan 17, 2009

Thats right.Ive hauled bananas to Iowa from Galveston,Texas.They have to be a certain temperature and I think its 40 degrees.Once they get the bananas in the warehouse they put them in a big chamber and gas them to turn them yellow.Thermo Kings will heat stuff up to 80 degrees and go as low as -20 degrees.

john in la · Jan 17, 2009

Been a lot of years since I pulled a refer but I did see something a while back about Thermo King even has 3 temperate zone trailers now.

This would be great for hauling mixed loads of say strawberries; tomatoes; and lettuce.

Was never into hauling much garbage as we use to call it. To many stops per load for me. Give me a gas tanker or a set of wiggle wagons any day over a refer unit.

LenND · Jan 17, 2009

You're right trucker40, they used to have (a tattle tail} thermometer up in the front of the load. If the temp varied a certain amount of degrees up or down a red flag would trip in side and the temp would show. They refused a full load one time and I thought driver was going to cry. What do you do with a load of dark green bananas. I think they ended up buying them for a discount. The drivers brought bananas up from Texas and then they would take heavy oats back.

Anonymous-0 · Jan 17, 2009

And when they need a load for the trip back they fill those reefers with ag chemicals.. I can't tell you the nuber of times I've seen reefers with the Chiquita logo loading with 2-4-D and Dursban/Lorsban for the haul back. makes me wonder about the cleanliness of the trailers.

steveormary · Jan 17, 2009

And all this time I thought you just used a banna warmer.

steveormar

Anonymous-0 · Jan 18, 2009

I work for Fareway Stores. Many years ago we hauled bananas from a facility in Iowa Falls Ia. before we built our own banana ripening building. They were kept at 55 degrees with the refer running. Today when we haul them to the stores with the rest of the refridgerated items the unit is set at 40 degrees with the bananas covered with a thermal blanket to keep them warm..

trucker40 · Jan 18, 2009

I know that you arent supposed to haul chemicals in a food trailer.In 15 years of hauling food I never hauled farm chemicals in a food trailer.I dont know what others did.

john in la · Jan 18, 2009

You can load chemicals and food in the same trailer.
The only restriction food has on it is Class 6 hazmat items. Poison items can not be loaded with food but can be a backhaul load.

ramblineagle · Jan 18, 2009

Redtom, most all of the shippers of food products inspect the trailer real close, if they see any dirt or forgein material in the trailer they REFUSE to laod it,trailer must then be washed out and dried before loading.

OT: How do they keep bananas from freezing?

IA Leon

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